SportsNews

Supercars Bathurst 1000: Payne fastest in dramatic qualifying

Published

1 year ago

October 11, 2024

Matt Payne took provisional pole position for the Bathurst 1000 after a qualifying session of fine margins at Mount Panorama.

Payne and his Grove Racing Ford streaked around the 6.213km circuit in a time of 2m05.6452s to edge out fellow Mustang pilot Cameron Waters by a scant 0.0060s.

“It just seemed to hook up really nicely and it just seemed to turn really well at ‘The Grate’,” he explained after the lap.

“The previous practice we did not have such a good run on green tyres. I knew the car was better than that. I knew we were going to be in the top five, but P1 is pretty cool.”

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Waters, who nearly had a crash at Forrest’s Elbow during the session, revealed he had also suffered a reliability scare in the early stages.

“It was a pretty intense session, I had an engine problem to start with and that cleared,” he said.

“Everyone is trying so hard, even in practice one, it was crazy how fast everyone was going. I am just lucky I am not one of the ones crashing.”

The session featured a pair of red flags, with the first coming with 23 minutes remaining on the clock as David Reynolds lost control of the rear of his Team18 Chevrolet Camaro at The Dipper, collecting the wall where team-mate Warren Luff had performed a miraculous escape earlier in the weekend.

David Reynolds, Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
© Autosport.com

David Reynolds, Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Photo by: Edge Photographics

The second came due to a crash at the same corner after Shell V-Power Racing driver Will Davison destroyed all four corners of his Ford Mustang on his final push.

This crash ruined Broc Feeney’s attempt to top the session, although he remained the highest-placed Chevrolet driver in third. Prior to the red flags being displayed, he had been 0.25s up on Payne’s benchmark.

The Triple Eight man was 0.0081s faster than 2023 polesitter Brodie Kostecki, who set the fourth fastest time and clattered the wall at Sulman Park, requiring a mid-session suspension change which cost eight minutes of track time.

Highlighting how close the session was, Kostecki’s time was 0.0194s away from Payne.

Championship leader Will Brown secured his shootout position in fifth, having spent the majority of the session out of the window, while Chaz Mostert was sixth.

Andre Heimgartner, Jack Le Broc, Anton de Pasquale and Richie Stanaway rounded out those who will contest Saturday’s shootout.

As a result of causing the red flags, both Reynolds and Davison saw their best times struck from the record, leaving them 21st and 16th respectively.

The Supercars will be back on track at 10:05am Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time [12:05am BST], with a one-hour practice session for co-drivers only. There will be another hour’s practice at 1:10pm [3:10am BST] and the top 10 shootout is due to begin at 5:05pm [7:05am BST].

SportsNews

EPL: Full list of players leaving for 2025 AFCON

Published

5 days ago

December 13, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

At least 25 players in the Premier League are set to travel for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The tournament is scheduled to take place from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

Nigeria, Ivory Coast, DR Congo lead the way in terms of players based in the English topflight, with four selected from each club for the AFCON.

FIFA has directed clubs to release the eligible players from Monday, December 15.

Full list of players confirmed

Sunderland (5):
Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo (Mozambique), Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo).

Manchester United (3):
Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco).

Fulham (3):
Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria).

Burnley (3):
Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia).

Nottingham Forest (2):
Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast).

Brentford (2):
Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria).

Manchester City (1):
Omar Marmoush (Egypt),

West Ham United (1):
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo)

Wolves (2):
Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast).

Brighton & Hove Albion (1):
Carlos Baleba (Cameroon).

Crystal Palace (2):
Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal), Cheick Doucouré (Mali)

Liverpool (1):
Mohammed Salah (Egypt)

SportsNews

NNL bars fans from Ranchers Bees vs Adamawa United

Published

5 days ago

December 13, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The Nigeria National League, NNL, has announced that matchday six fixture between Ranchers Bees and Adamawa United will be played behind closed doors.

The announcement was made in a statement by the league body.

Only the State Football Association representatives, staff of both teams, kit managers and medical personnel will be allowed into the stadium.

Others are the match officials, security personnel and camera men.

The reason for the decision to play the game without club supporters wasn’t stated by the league body.

The encounter will take place at the Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna on Saturday (today).

SportsNews

Nigeria vs Egypt Friendly Gets New Date

Published

1 week ago

December 8, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations have taken a fresh hit, with Egypt confirming that the highly anticipated friendly between both nations has been shifted from 14 to 16 December.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced the adjustment late Friday, noting that FIFA’s updated international release directive, which allows clubs keep African players until 15 December, made the original date unworkable.

EFA Vice President Khaled El-Darandaly explained that the new rule left both Egypt and Nigeria without full squads for the initial date.

Key Pharaohs players, including Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, are now expected to arrive only after the new release window.

Egypt had already named its 28-man provisional squad and opened camp in Cairo, with head coach Hossam Hassan accelerating final preparations for a Group B campaign that includes South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe.

Nigeria’s disruption is more extensive. The Super Eagles were originally scheduled to open camp on 10 December and progress through a streamlined friendly schedule before departing for Morocco. That entire framework has now been dismantled.

Under the revised timeline, camp will open on 14 December, leaving Eric Chelle with barely a week to prepare before AFCON kicks off.

The venue for the friendly is also now uncertain, with Cairo no longer feasible and both federations considering shifting the match to Morocco.

Nigeria’s build-up has been further destabilised by injuries to Ola Aina, Taiwo Awoniyi, Benjamin Fredrick and Felix Agu.

The shock retirement of captain William Troost-Ekong, winner of the 2023 AFCON Player of the Tournament award, creates an additional leadership vacuum in defence.

Chelle, who released a 55-man provisional list, must now trim his squad to 28 within a compressed window. Nigeria will compete in Group C alongside Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania as they chase a fourth continental title.